Tag: Part I

I have been working on this Donald Trump article for some weeks now. Besides taking the time to read his latest biography and other research, I am still having to pace myself more slowly these days due to still being in health recovery mode.

In fact, that and the recurrence of some earlier health issues, has led me to postpone my Spring and Summer travel/working plans this year, taking more time for rest and recuperation and retreat in my cabin in the mountains.

I will still be doing Readings by telephone or Skype, scheduled at a mellow pace, and feel inspired to encourage you to consider one some time as it would help me a lot during this financially tight time. Remember, even my short, 30 minute, economical $55 Reading can go quickly and deeply into an understanding of your current situation and the best way to move forward.

And, as I promised earlier, in my desire to give back to those of you who generously contributed funds to my Gofundme appeal last winter, I am offering a 20% discount on any of my readings to those who donated.

If you are not familiar with the Readings that I offer, here is a link to check them out:

And now to Donald Trump. It does seem appropriate that when I initially wrote this article it was still uncertain whether he would actually win the Republican nomination. And now, we seem to be guaranteed to be confronted with his looming presence from now until November, at least.

Before I launch into his personal Astrological karma I just want to make note of a few more general things right now. First of all, there is a lot going on in the world at large and in the Astrological chart of the U.S. at this time.

Besides the on-going backdrop of the revolution/transformation tension of the Pluto/Uranus Square, we have the other outer planets, Neptune and Saturn, squaring each other this year as well. This entails a tension between where to be realistic and authoritative, but not cold and restrictive (i.e. Saturn); and where to be sensitive and compassionate, but not deluded and a victim (i.e. Neptune)

An easily recognizable reflection of this kind of challenge is the refugee crisis in Europe or, for that matter, our own challenging relationship with immigrants in this country.

Neptune also relates to drugs, alcohol and other forms of ‘escapism.’ Saturn squaring Neptune brings to my mind the engaged concrete Saturnian, even congressional, attention which is now being focused upon the epidemic of heroin and opioid drug usage across thee U.S. right now.

Neptune also relates to the Sea and to the element of water. Saturn corresponds to the metal lead, which brings to my mind: “Lead in the water.” It seems that the people of Flint Michigan have served as a reflection of this kind of conflict.

In fact, this Saturn/Neptune tension is hitting the U.S. Ascendant, i.e. our self-image of ourselves, directly this year. It was this Ascendant portion of the U.S. Astrological chart which was experiencing the effects of a Pluto/Saturn opposition at the time of the 9/11 attacks.

Our Ascendant is in the sign Sagittarius. Now Sagittarius is a fire sign and fire signs always want to feel inspired and passionate. Ruled by Jupiter, Sagittarius-energized people are particularly ever youthful, enthusiastic and optimistically confident.

Lately, however, Saturn has been going over our Sagittarian self-image, back and forth, and thus the Sagittarian enthusiasm has been feeling a Saturnian restriction and limitation, whether by Bernie Sanders: ‘One-percenters rigging the system,’ or Hillary’s contention with Republican authoritative efforts to haul her into court, or the on-going Republican complaints of suffering under 7 years of Obama’s failed policies and the fear of a Hillary Clinton extension of the same.

This same Saturn, however, is also, as I said, square to Neptune this year; hence we also have Neptune creating tension upon our preferably upbeat Sagittarian self-image, again, a tension between where to be realistic and authoritative but not cold and restrictive (i.e. Saturn) and where to be sensitive and compassionate but not deluded and a victim (i.e. Neptune)

This simultaneous Saturn/Neptune transit upon our Sagittarian self-image of ourselves is most clearly being played out in the current political dramas.

This is especially problematic in consideration of one component of a Sagittarian Ascendant according to the Ascended Master Hilarion*:

“This sign rising will tend to make the individual see himself as upright, honest and morally strong, whether true or not.”

And so, impinging upon our Sagittarian self-image potential to self-righteously see ourselves as honest and morally strong, whether true or not, we have not only a Saturnian heavy, restrictive ‘reality-check’ upon our self-image but, at the same time, we have a Neptunian temptation towards illusion, confusion, delusion, victimhood and martyrdom squaring that self-image.

In summary, the self-image of the United States is going through a pretty major ‘test of faith’ right now. Saturn is the source of not only restriction on our normally ‘up-beat’ positive Sagittarian righteousness, but also the need to become more focused, dedicated and disciplined towards what we believe to be true. Nothing like a Presidential election to bring that about.

The Neptune Square to our Sagittarian self-image, however, makes all of that much more problematic. This is the tremendous sense of victimhood or perceived vulnerability to potential victimhood experienced by both sides of the political divide, and even within the ranks of the two political parties themselves.

For example, the tension between Bernie Sanders, a compassionate grandfather figure with a 1960’s conscience promising us what could be the (illusive or elusive) golden ring (i.e. Neptune) of equality, and Hillary Clinton, the progressive who ‘knows how to get things done’ within the conventional establishment (i.e. Saturn).

Even more resonant is the Republican side of things where we have the near complete dissolving (Neptune) of the Republican Establishment (Saturn) by, basically, an entertainer (Neptune).

Of course Trump himself has set himself up by catering to a mass of angry victims (Neptune) within American society by convincing them he is going to be the one who is going to take charge and be the authority (Saturn) who can free them of their victimhood.

Again, Sagittarius wants to be enthusiastic and passionate. That enthusiasm and passion, however, can be motivated by one of two things: love/compassion or: fear/hate. Unfortunately it is far easier to get a rise out of people using fear and hate. I can only imagine how ‘pumped up’ one of those large Trump rallies really are.

Actually, I just remembered there is a Trump rally going on down the road here in Washington State at this very moment as I am writing this. (Creepy)

Donald Trump: My Astrological View (Part 1)

In full disclosure: I admit to having personally benefitted from the largesse of the Trump Corporation. During the years that I lived in New York City I discovered that the cleanest, most grandiose and freely available rest rooms in mid-town Manhattan were at the Trump Tower, and I availed myself of those facilities on numerous occasions. 🙂

In preparation for writing this article I purchased and spent several days reading the Trump biography: “Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success” by Michael D’Antonio, and I will incorporate several quotes from that book. I wanted to give a well-researched treatment to this article. I am, again, grateful and inspired by all of the appreciation and support I received recently in regard to my health challenges and am happy to put out some extra study and energy to give back to all of you.

Of course this article is going to be the most incredible, amazing, insightful article ever written about Donald Trump, which I know all of you are going to share with everyone you know, and it is going to go ‘viral’ and my reputation as an Astrologer is going to expand exponentially, and thousands of people will sign up for my newsletters, and my practice is going to be ‘off the charts’ with new clients desperate to benefit from my obviously superior skills and knowledge as an Astrologer and, and….Oh My God, …..I am so sorry. I just had a touch of ‘Trump Fever’ there. This is something you have to be careful about if you get too close…and yet,…don’t we all have a little secret wish that we could have that kind of narcissistic grandiose self-promotion?

As Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr. said:

“Listen, he’s a polarizing guy. Okay? There is no question. There are not guys out there that probably say, ‘Yeah, Trump’s okay.’ There are guys that say, ‘I love Trump! He’s the greatest guy in the world!’ Or he’s their least favorite human being in the whole world. That said, that person who hates Trump the most still wants to get their picture with him when he walks by. That person still wants to shake his hand. That person is still sort of mesmerized by him in his presence.”

And yet who is Donald Trump really? Here is a quote from Michael Antonio’s book:

But who is Donald Trump really? Even those close to him are perplexed by this question as evidenced by this quote from his ex-wife Ivana Trump:

“Ivana readily recalls happier episodes from the early years of her marriage to Donald, and the details of her successes as his business partner…. But when I ask what she thinks motivates her former husband, she struggles to answer and says, ‘I think he wants to be noticed.’ A moment later, when I ask if she feels she has ‘figured out’ Donald, she first says, ‘Yeah, I figured it out,’ then adds, ‘Well, I really don’t know.’ “

And:

“Obscured by hype, the facts of his life didn’t matter as much as the idea of him. Anyone who tried to grasp the ‘real’ Trump was likely to fail. As the ninety-two-year old doyenne of gossip Liz Smith tells me, ‘I’ve known him forever, and I can’t figure him out.’ “

Those of us familiar with the depth and potential of Modern Astrology know it is the tool par excellence to gain insight into the complexity and personal karmic experience of an individual.

Let me say up front, however, I am not, at this point, going to enter into the ‘predicting game’ as to whether Donald Trump will win the Republican Nomination, or will become President. Either he will or he won’t. We will have to wait and see. I can see that on July 25th of this year, four days after the end of the Republican Convention, Donald Trump will experience one of the most significant Astrological shifts that he is scheduled to experience in this lifetime.

Obviously, regardless of whether he comes out of that convention as a winner or loser of the nomination, it is going to be an incredibly intense experience for him, and therefore easily recognizable as a reflection of that shift I can see ahead for him.

I am also not going to comment on his political policies, which do seem to range from what would normally attribute to the progressive left end of the spectrum, such as his stance against the multinational corporate favored trade policies, and his willingness to declare himself as neutral in Israeli and Palestinian negotiations (both very un-Republican-like) to his militaristic foreign and anti-immigration policies that put him in league with the right wing of the right wing.

The questions I am more interested in addressing now are: What does his Astrology chart really say about him? And, what does this phenomenon of Donald Trump’s popularity say about us?

So, in that light, I will proceed. First of all, for those of you who may not be familiar with my personal approach to Astrology, I want to state that I rely heavily upon the Karmic Astrology information published in the book: ‘Astrology Plus.’ * which was channeled through the mediumship of Maurice Cooke from the Ascended Master Hilarion. This very specific, personal, karmic information provides insights not available from any other source. I will therefore be quoting directly from this book to share with you these unique personal insights.

On initial glance it is easy to recognize that Donald Trump was destined to be wealthy. One of the most positively aspected planets in his chart is his Jupiter, the planet of optimism, confidence, luck and fortune, in his Second House of money, finances, love and affection.

For Jupiter in the 2nd Hilarion says:

The placement of a benefic planet in the second sector (Venus and Jupiter are the Lesser and Greater Benefics, respectively) always calls into the life a protective influence over the “material resources” of the native.

This Jupiter is in positive aspect to his Moon and therefore relatable to the luck of having been born into a family which would attain some degree of affluence.

But, Jupiter in the 2nd also indicates:

Second House Jupiter in the second sector suggests that love will be a strong part of the individual’s life. If heavily afflicted however, Jupiter in the second will not give the full measure of affectional fulfillment, until the native learns to de-escalate his exaggerated view of sensual gratification.

Now sensual gratification can obviously be sex, food, money and the things that money can buy.

‘The Donald,” as he was named by his 2nd wife, has been known, especially in his earlier days, to have been quite the ‘womanizer.’ He never took to alcohol or drugs but readily admitted to his passion for beautiful women.

“Trump sought to bond over guy talk, said Dowd, almost to the point of annoyance. The man talks and talks and talks – about sports and women. The amount of conversation about sex and women is endless.”

According to his 2nd wife, Marla Maples:

“I saw a real positive light in him, but money and power truly got in the way of the love that we had, to be very honest; if anything, it destroyed it.”

To his credit, Donald Trump also has his Jupiter in the sign of Libra, of which Hilarion says:

Libra In Libra, ruled by Venus, Jupiter always promises an eventual happy marriage (or marriage-equivalent). The extent of the afflictions to Jupiter here suggest the degree of delay or hardship that will have to be borne first. The delays and problems are always for karmic purposes, and the ultimate happy union is also karmically deserved.

And therefore we may hope, for his sake, and the for the sake of his current wife, Melania, that he has finally found that Jupiter in Libra promised marital harmony.

Donald Trump’s problems in the arena of money and finances and love and affection, i.e. the 2nd House, don’t really come so much from this Jupiter. I would say they derive more from his Neptune, also in the Second House, but square, in tension with, his Mercury. Neptune in the 2nd can give one great faith and trust around money, but it can also give a propensity for confusion, illusion, deception, victimhood and martyrdom, in this case, around love and money.

The Mercury end of this tension is in Cancer, of which Hilarion says:

Mercury here if afflicted will make it very difficult for the rational mental processes to operate independently of and unaffected by the emotional life. Negative feelings and emotions will have a way of muddying up the reasoning ability. The main lesson is to separate thought from emotional influences.

Neptune squaring that Mercury is going to heighten the negative Neptunian influence upon what Donald Trump thinks or says, especially around love and money. Of course his experience has been a mixture of the two.

He has often referred to the world as ‘vicious’ and life is about ‘survival’ and all there are only the ‘winners’ and the ‘losers.’

In his book: Trump: The Art of the Comeback he depicted women as sexually voracious ‘killers’ who traded their beauty to dominate men. As he stated:

“The most difficult aspect of the prenuptial agreement is informing your future wife (or husband): I love you very much, but just in case things don’t work out, this is what you will get in the divorce. There are basically three types of women and reactions. One is the good woman who very much loves her future husband, solely for himself, but refuses to sign the agreement on principle. I fully understand this, but the man should take a pass anyway and find someone else. The other is the calculating woman who refuses to sign the prenuptial agreement because she is expecting to take advantage of the poor, unsuspecting sucker she’s got in her grasp. There is also the woman who will openly and quickly sign a prenuptial agreement in order to make a quick hit and take the money given to her.”

Additionally:

“It doesn’t really matter what they write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass”

“People are really vicious, and no place are they more vicious than in their relationships with the opposite sex.”

A bit of fearful, Neptunian victim/victimizerness involving sex and money I would say.

This confusion around love and money is also relatable to the title of his biography ‘Never Enough.’ In fact, the main thrust of the 348 pages of this biography is the convoluted journey of Trumpian financial machinations involving both the Neptunian creative imagination and faith; and incredible Neptunian deception, manipulation, illusion and victimhood. Besides various sleight of hand tricks enabling him to force financial suffering upon his creditors and stockholders through bankruptcies which allowed him to personally escape virtually unscathed, there is also his aggressive victimization of anyone in the way of his financial ambitions.

There is also another frequently appearing phenomenon. An easy way for a journalist to evoke the anger, resentment and vicious attacks from Donald Trump is for them to state that he is not anywhere near as wealthy as he claims to be.

The Mercury end of the Neptune/Mercury tension is in the Eleventh House, which Hilarion has re-categorized as the house of karma with former enemies. As Donald has three planets in this house it is clearly a significant part of his karmic lessons in this life.

These factors, however, do not really explain the incredible ambition, aggressivity, and the secret, hidden insecurity behind it all. Let us now look at other revelatory factors.

First of all, Donald Trump is a Gemini, someone who has in previous lives developed mental abilities at a high degree and level and has used them in the service of others, and has a potential connection to these kinds of qualities in this life. The Gemini’s challenge is to integrate their Higher Mind with their lower everyday thinking mind, otherwise:

“along with the gift comes a responsibility. In the case of Gemini, it is to learn to manifest the mind energy in a way which does not allow the energy to become dissipated and scattered, and which is not turned against others in the form of verbal attacks. Gemini, with its rulership by Mercury, is often compared to the child phase of human development. Many Gemini individuals remain to some extent at an immature level in terms of the mind energies which they possess. It is commonly observed that children, regardless of Sun-sign, tend to be scattered in their activities, with short attention spans and a difficulty in applying themselves to any long-term task with perseverance. This is due to the inability of the immature brain to get into phase with the higher mind impulses. It is also observed that children, particularly when having to live with siblings, develop habits of verbal abuse against each other — often as an alternative form of conflict because the parents inhibit them from actual physical combat. In other Sun-signs where the mind energies are not so strongly present, a point is usually reached where these tendencies are overcome. But in the Gemini, there is so much mental energy that it is much harder, even in maturity, to conquer these negative expressions of the Gemini pattern. Those who fail are found to be either verbally abusive or scattered in their energies, or both.”

Trump’s Sun in Gemini is in opposition to his Moon in Sagittarius (thus he was born during the tension of a Full Moon). This Gemini/Sagittarius tension is recognizable in the rapid, acerbic, self-righteous criticality he instantly launches towards any attacker. This aggressivity, however, is greatly pumped-up by his Mars in Leo:

“Leo This sign has its greatest problem in arrogance and pride. Mars here, when afflicted, gives a tendency to escalate arrogance into actual dislike or disdain for others. There is a tendency to have a chip on the shoulder, and to be quite antagonistic to those whose interests conflict with one’s own. Often dislikes are taken to others for no apparent reason — merely that “he rubs me the wrong way”. The major lesson for Mars afflicted in Leo is to be more accepting of others, and to control the feelings of antagonism.”

This proud, arrogant Mars in Leo is technically in his Twelfth House, but it is tightly conjunct to his Ascendant, cusp of his First House of Self-Image, and therefore easily recognizable as having its influence pulled into that First House as well, of which Hilarion says:

“When Mars is located in the first house, it is certain that the self-picture is colored by the notions of maleness, assertiveness and athleticism. If afflicted, Mars in the first will bring a strong tendency to conflict with others, to “rub them the wrong way”. The lesson is simply to moderate the assertiveness and aggression to the point where the relationships with others are no longer disrupted by these traits”.

Trump admits to this aggressive capacity being a major component of his life since early childhood. In speaking about the reasons why his parents sent him to a private military school when he was in the 8th grade:

“Well, I was very rebellious and my parents thought it would be a good idea. I was very rebellious. I was a very rebellious kind of person. I don’t like to talk about it, actually. But I was a very rebellious person and very set in my ways. I loved to fight. I always loved to fight. All types of fights. Any kind of fight. I loved it, including physical, and I was always the best athlete.”

Donald actually gave his second grade music teacher a black eye:

“Because I didn’t think he knew anything about music.”

“When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I’m basically the same. The temperament is not that different.”

But now to the more scary part. What, to my mind, clearly fuels the ambition and the aggressivity on a deeper psychological/karmic level are what Hilarion says about Trump’s Sun in the Tenth House and his Leo Ascendant.

This is what Hilarion says about his Sun in the 10th House:

“When the Sun is located in the tenth sector of a Natus, its meaning is that the individual has a strong drive to “project a role” into the world, to achieve something, to make his mark. This tendency is a habit built up in past lives of accomplishment.

Another practical meaning of this placement relates to the parents. Almost without exception, one with the Sun in the tenth will have come under the strong, dominating influence of one of his parents, and this relationship will have been responsible for re-kindling, in this life, the old predilection for worldly success which was assembled in past earth-experiences.

From a lesson point of view, this solar placement shows a need to learn to be true to one’s own inner essence, and not to compromise that truth for the sake of success. The more afflicted is the sun, the more that lesson needs to be learned.

Karmically, the sun in the tenth sector requires the individual to pass through stages of uncertainty and worry in connection with his “role in life”. The degree of affliction to the sun speaks of the seriousness of these episodes. Under great affliction, the Sun here will show one who never seems able to establish the career role he yearns for.”

For those of you who aren’t that aware of the likely influence of Donald’s father, Fred Trump, it is here easily recognizable as resonant with ‘one with the Sun in the tenth will have come under the strong, dominating influence of one of his parents, and this relationship will have been responsible for re-kindling, in this life, the old predilection for worldly success which was assembled in past earth-experiences. In these quotes:

“As a boy he had watched his father’s developments rise from rubble-strewn earth to become solid structures of brick and steel that housed thousands of families.”

“He told Scott Pelly that his father was ‘a tough cookie’ – a strict, ‘no-nonsense kind of guy.’

“My father was a businessperson that expected tremendous success out of me.”

“I learned about toughness in a very tough business,” he wrote, from his father, Fred. Whether negotiating with suppliers and building contractors or overseeing work on job sites, Fred was an “unbelievably demanding taskmaster” who “would just pound and pound and pound.”

“He had to be better than his father. We were sent here (the military school) to be the best of the best, and we knew what our job was.

In studying the fuller story of his childhood, however, I think we can recognize another major ‘father-figure’ influence in his childhood in the guise of Theodore Dobias, Trump’s sports coach and ‘drill sergeant’ at the military school he attended:

“Donald Trump came to regard Ted Dobias as his first real role model, aside from his father. Dobias helped him to adapt and thrive in an environment where macho concepts of strength and masculinity prevailed.”

Dobias:

“I coached baseball and football, and I taught them that winning wasn’t everything, it was the only thing….Donald picked right up on this. He would tell his teammates, ‘We’re out here for a purpose. To win.’ He always had to be number one, in everything. He was a conniver even then. A real pain in the ass. He would do anything to win.”

This 10th house tendency to validate oneself in terms of your ‘role’ instead of who you really are, along with some of that Neptunian delusion around love, sex and money would easily relate to these comments by Trump himself:

“I am the creator of my own comic book, and I love living in it.”

“Not the quarry, but the chase; not the trophy, but the race’ inspires Trump. ‘The same assets that excite me in the chase, often, once they are acquired, leave me bored. For me…the important thing is the getting, not the having.’ ‘It’s all in the hunt and once you get it, it loses some of its energy. I think competitive, successful men feel that way about women.”

“I was bored when she (Trump’s 2nd wife Marla Maples) was walking down the aisle. I kept thinking: What the hell am I doing here? I was so deep into my business stuff. I couldn’t think of anything else.”

“In the winter of his life, Donald Trump remains fully committed to his pursuits, which include fighting, consuming, and marking the planet with his name. He finds nothing shameful in this but, when prodded, will admit to just a bit of self-doubt. In one of our talks he asks, ‘Have you ever heard of Peggy Lee? ‘Is That All There Is?’ It’s a great song because I’ve had these tremendous successes and then I’m off to the next one because it’s, like, ‘Huh, is that all there is? That’s a great song”

“When Trump turned to the subject of fame and its effects, he wrote from a unique perspective. Fame, which was part of his business plan, had contributed substantially to his successes even as it exacted a price. It is, he wrote, “a kind of drug, one that is way too powerful for most people to handle.’ ‘Trump: ‘Surviving at the Top’ was filled with firsthand reports on the bizarre behavior of fame-addled celebrities. Trump described Frank Sinatra as screaming to a bodyguard when he was approached by a fan, shouting ‘Get this bum out of here!’ Trump devoted a full page to Howard Hughes, whose eccentricities became pathologies in the years prior to his death. In his youth, the sandy-haired Hughes could have passed as Trump’s brother. Like Donald, Hughes was linked to many beautiful women and operated a gambling business. He was also famously germophobic, a trait that Trump confessed he too possessed. ‘I’m constantly washing my hands, and it wouldn’t bother me if I never had to shake hands with a well-meaning stranger again.’

“Trump’s seeming frank statements about his contamination anxiety and his angst over his financial struggles – ‘My life is shit.’ He declared – give the impression of a man who was willing to reveal himself. But all he copped to were a few missteps and quirks and forgivable sins such as working too hard. Sprinkled into a text that was otherwise an exercise in name-dropping and chest-thumping, these confessions revealed nothing meaningful about the man. The book was savaged in The Times by the prominent journalist Michael Lewis, who observed, ‘He’s not exposing himself so much as he is shopping for new identities.’ Lewis found the book to be ‘a strained, sloppy exercise in façade restoration.”

Additionally, Donald has his Uranus in the 10th House as well, the planet of the unusual and the unconventional, which gives him comfort at being the unconventional character that he is. Being in good aspect to that lucky, affluent 2nd House Jupiter is why Donald is able to ‘think outside of the box’ and find lucky breaks that enable him to remake and rebuild himself. It has been said that a positive Jupiter/Uranus aspect will create a note of ‘genius.’

The fact that he has, periodically, been faced with the need to remake and rebuild himself is relatable to not only his difficultly aspected 10th House Sun (Karmically, the sun in the tenth sector requires the individual to pass through stages of uncertainty and worry in connection with his “role in life”. “The degree of affliction to the sun speaks of the seriousness of these episodes.) but also the karmic lesson associated with a difficulty aspected Uranus in the 10th House:

“When Uranus is located in the tenth sector, it is a clear warning to the native not to “take chances” in terms of the career or job. Speculation and “long shots” are to be avoided, if success in the world is sought. In past lives, others suffered because of the native’s irresponsible attitude toward making a living, and the same trait could surface again now. To combat this, the life pattern is arranged so as to cause speculative and high-risk ventures to run into trouble. Naturally, the problem is more acute with a preponderance of negative aspects to Uranus. But even a mainly positive Uranus will require great care in the job/career area. The conventional meaning of “unusual occupation” also normally applies to this placement, and under heavy affliction to Uranus in the tenth, sudden changes in or losses of position must be expected.”

The Uranus is opposite to his Moon, which is why he quite likely had to start to deal with that lesson about taking risks by observing the ups and downs of his father’s financial fortunes during his childhood.

I, personally, am not sure how comfortable I would be having a President promising financial transformation and a ‘role in the world’ transformation on the level to which it is being promised by Donald Trump, knowing that he has this risky Uranian tension here. When you are President your access to convoluted bankruptcy laws and the machinations of highly paid lawyers when you get into trouble are limited.

Now, however, I come to what to me is the scariest part of Donald Trump’s Astrology Chart. That is his Leo Ascendant, something he shares with George W. Bush and Sarah Palin.

First of all, there is a large difference between having the Sun in Leo and having a Leo Ascendant. Basically, the Sun is who you are, your soul essence. The Ascendant is who you ‘think’ you are, the way you will tend to see yourself. This is why it is often easier to guess someone’s Ascendant or Rising sign than their Sun Sign.

In many cases, according to Hilarion, the Ascendant is arranged to bring in a quality which is not a component of the soul. This is the case with a Leo Ascendant.

For example, this is what Hilarion says about someone having the Sun in Leo:

“Leo The Leo individual is one who, in a past incarnation, showed the trait of leadership and guidance for those who without such help would have perished. From this action comes another gift: in this case, a tap into a spiritual source of initiative and leadership qualities which is always available to the soul, and can be manifested in the personality, filters permitting. But the task which comes with the gift is to express the guidance and leadership without allowing the self to assume too great an importance. These energies are easily misdirected into aggrandizement and pride of self, and constant effort is called for by the Leo personality to avoid these negative traits. The best way to keep the pride and self-centered tendencies from manifesting is to cultivate kindness and consideration for others. But even the kind ones can become enmeshed in a habitual tendency to view life as a kind of play in which they are the principal actor around whom everything revolves. This tendency is again due to the abundance of the energy which is being tapped at the higher level, which comes down as a clear picture of the individual leading others, i.e. at the head of, or in some way above the mass of those who are being led. The best way to deal with the Leo energy is to find an outlet where others are being served at the same time as they are being led or directed. This is why a teaching role is one of the best ways to manifest the Leo nature.”

Now, both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have their Sun in Leo. Although Obama also has his Sun square to Neptune, hence the likelihood of some confusion/victimhood involving the childhood relationship with the father. To my mind this creates some challenges for Obama but is also why he is a bit more humble than Bill Clinton, Mick Jagger or Madonna. Whereas, as I said earlier, both George W. Bus and Donald Trump have Leo Ascendants.

Here is Hilarion’s pronouncement for the Leo Ascendant:

Leo When the sign Leo rises, there will be a tendency for the self-picture to be colored by the notions of elegance, specialness and superiority. A proudness will often be felt internally, even though it usually does not manifest. The reason for giving this Ascendant to an individual is to prompt him to think better of himself than he is in the habit of doing when in incarnation. The rulership by the Sun thus lends to the individual certain bolstering influences in terms of how he sees himself, which are intended to teach him not to underestimate his own worth and not to feel inferior to others. In view of this explanation, it will be understood that those with Leo rising will often find that they are torn between thinking little and thinking a lot of themselves. Through the experience of this inner battle, it is hoped that they will ultimately learn that each person is complete and worthy in his own right, and that none are either superior or inferior.

Now, George W. Bush has his Sun in Cancer, hence in past lives he has developed caring, nurturing qualities, qualities I am sure he is able to express in his family relationships, as well as a reason why he would really rather just be out at his ranch these days.

The ‘faking it,’ potentially arrogant, Leo Ascendant is what gets him into trouble. For those who may be interested, I wrote a chapter about the Astrology of George W. Bush in my book: “The Astrological Karma of the USA.”

There is, in fact, some other parallels between George W. Bush and Donald Trump beyond the Leo Ascendant connection. I have read the accounts of several people who know Trump personally who state that the real Donald Trump they know is nothing like the arrogant, aggressive public persona he portrays. They say he is actually a warm, caring guy at heart.

Well, Donald Trump has a couple of placements in the sign of Cancer (the same sign as George W.’s Sun sign) which would indicate a genuine capacity for a personal warm, caring capacity, especially within a home/family context.

These are the positive aspects of his Mercury in Cancer:

“If well aspected in Cancer, Mercury gives a love of home and especially, warmth for children within the family circle.”

And for his Venus in Cancer:

“Well-aspected, Venus here gives a very warm love-nature, and one that seeks to find its best expression within the context of the home environment.”

So we have two potentially caring, nurturing guys with ‘faking it’ arrogant personas. The thing is, the last time we elected a Leo Ascendant President he led the country into what may be becoming World War III. If we elect Trump, another Leo Ascendant President, I fear he may well ‘carry on the tradition’ of misguided foreign policy and military engagements.

Trump, in fact, has additional factors which, to my mind, make him scarier than Bush. One factor is his Mars in Leo conjuncting that Leo Ascendant. This is recognizable as the ‘hair-trigger’ counter-aggressivity he has been programmed to use to counter any appeared threat to his own insecure self-image. The fact that he was born pre-programmed with these qualities is why they were evident in his character from such an early age.

Now, people can come to terms with these factors and, in fact, most of my clients with Leo Rising are well aware of the fact that they are not as strong as they appear. This, however, requires conscious awareness, honesty and humility. Donald Trump, however, has uttered what, to my mind, are rather frightening statements for someone with Leo Rising to say:

“Trump has offered his observations about the Peggy Lee line to other interviewers (re: the song: Is That All There Is?) which makes me think that he keeps it in reserve for a moment when he’s supposed to demonstrate self-awareness. Later when I read over a transcript of the interview, it becomes obvious that what he says next is more telling. Referring to Lee’s lyric I say, ‘Do you ask yourself that sometimes too?’ He replies: ‘No I don’t want to think about it! I don’t like to analyze myself because I might not like what I see. I don’t like to analyze myself.”

“A linguist or psychologist could write at length on Trump’s conversational style. After the briefest reflection, he slams the door on introspection and turns immediately to consider other people and their failures.”

This whole portion of Donald Trump’s Astrological ‘curriculum’ is receiving a major focus of attention right now. This is in relation to his Progressed Sun. The Progressed Sun is where you move the Sun one degree for every year of your life. It is the most useful indicator of the movement of your identity through your Astrological chart.

Since age 38 Donald Trump’s Progressed Sun has been moving through his Twelfth House, house of the deeper unconscious and past life memory. A few years ago it conjuncted his arrogant, aggressive Mars in Leo and this has been where the focus of his identity has been in recent years.

On July 25th, however, four days after the Republican Convention, Donald Trump’s Progressed Sun will conjunct his proud (but compensating for insecurity) Leo Ascendant, and will move into his First House of Self-image, for the next 29 years.

Now, whether that proud, arrogant but insecure self-image will be brought to Donald’s awareness by having to face even more consciously the reality and responsibility of potentially serving as the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth through winning the nomination; or will have that awareness brought to him by having the space to feel the relief that that insecure self behind the Leo Rising arrogance would be feeling in the aftermath of losing the nomination, ….which of those scenarios will be at play, remains to be seen.

Whether he wins the nomination depends on what the Republicans do, and what it says about them. And whether he wins the Presidency following a capture of the nomination depends upon us, and what it says about us. That is the partially the topic of the next part of this article.

Endnote: Obviously the paragraphs above were written before Trump won the nomination, no longer being at the risk of a contested convention. The alignment of his Progressed Sun with his Ascendant at that time, however, still leads me to feel that there is likely to be some uncomfortable drama for Mr. Trump at that convention.